The biaxial test head relates to medical devices used in testing for allergies, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a reusable skin-testing device.
An estimated 50 million Americans suffer from chronic allergies, for example, perennial allergies to cat or dog dander or stinging insects; perennial indoor allergies to dust mites or cockroach allergen and molds; seasonal outdoor allergies to grass, trees or weed pollen; skin allergies these potential allergens or to other materials such as latex; food allergies to milk, soy, eggs, wheat, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, fish; allergies to medicine such as penicillin. All ages, sex and racial groups are susceptible to allergies. A person may be tested to determine how he may react to specific allergens. Skin testing is one type of test that determines what allergens may cause an allergic reaction to a patient. Skin testing may involve pricking, puncturing, or scratching the skin with an allergen. In addition, the skin may be tested with histamine or salt water to provide the physician with a control. A positive skin test may show a raised bump (i.e., a wheal) that may be surrounded with redness (i.e., a flare). The size of the bump determines whether the patient is allergic to a particular allergen. Typically the patient may be subjected to from ten to seventy different allergens during initial evaluation. This requires the use of a multi-headed skin-testing device.
Current multi-headed skin testing devices are utilized when skin testing for allergies. One issue with such multi-headed skin testing devices is the occurrence of false positive results. False positive results occur because of an uneven and equal pressure applied to contact points (e.g., tips) with a multi-headed device. For example, some tips have more pressure applied than other tips, resulting in the false positive. Thus, a need exists for an equal and even amount of pressure applied to all the tips of a multi-headed skin-testing device to eliminate false positive results.